Soaps

     Research by 

Sangeetha Priya U

Michlean Anusha Fernando

 

Introduction

            The following are the bath soaps which we took into consideration for our comparative study.

a.       Cinthol from Godrej

b.      Dettol from Reckitt Benckiser

c.       Dove  from HUL

d.      Fiama Di Wills from ITC  

e.       Johnson and Johnson

Cinthol

            Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) is an Indian fast moving consumer goods company based in Mumbai, India. GCPL’s product range includes soaps, hair colorants, toiletries and liquid detergents. Some of the leading brands are ‘Cinthol’, ‘Godrej Fair Glow’, ‘Godrej No.1’ and ‘Godrej Shikakai’ in soaps, ‘Godrej Powder Hair Dye’, ‘Renew’, ‘ColourSoft’ in hair colorants and ‘Ezee’ liquid detergent. GCPL operates in the domestic and international markets in the ‘Personal and Household Care’ segment.

Dettol

            Reckitt Benckiser plc (LSE: RB) is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of household cleaning products and a major producer of consumer healthcare and personal products. Its brands include Dettol (the world's largest-selling antiseptic), Strepsils (the world's largest-selling sore throat medicine), Veet (the world's largest-selling depilatory brand), Air Wick (the world's second largest-selling air freshener), Calgon, Clearasil, Cillit Bang, Durex and Vanish. It has operations in over 60 countries and its products are sold in over 180 countries.

Johnson & Johnson

            Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Johnson & Johnson's brands include numerous household names of medications and first aid supplies. Among its well-known consumer products is the Band-Aid Brand line of bandages, Tylenol medications, Johnson's baby products, Neutrogena skin and beauty products, Clean & Clear facial wash and Acuvue contact lenses.

Dove

          Dove is a personal care brand owned by Unilever. Dove products are manufactured in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey and United States. The products are sold in more than 35 countries and are offered for both women and men. The Dove trademark and brand name is currently owned by Unilever.

Fiama Di Wills

            Fiama Di Wills is an Indian personal care brand that offers shampoos, conditioner, bathing bars and shower gels. It is owned by ITC Limited, an Indian conglomerate with a turnover of USD 6 billion.

Factors taken into consideration

            When it comes to the factors on which these soaps can be compared, we chose the vital five factors which can impact the overall society. They are as follows

1.      Ingredients                  10 Points

2.      CO2 emissions            10 Points

3.      Social initiatives          10 Points

4.      Animal testing             10 Points

5.      Price                            10 Points

Comparison:

Ingredients:

The following table gives the comparison between the soaps in terms of ingredients. The factors considered are harmful ingredients in the soaps and the effects caused by the ingredients.

Soaps	Harmful ingredients	Effects
Cinthol	Triclocarbon	Allergies
Dettol	Isopropyl alcohol Sodium chloride	Dries and irritates skin, stripping its moisture and immune barrier. Eye and skin irritation if used in too high concentrations
Dove	Fragrance Titanium Dioxide Cocamidopropyl Betaine	Cancer forming, asthma, allergies, headaches, vomiting, dizziness to skin, discoloration, birth defects Carcinogen Itching, burning and blistering of skin
Fiama di wills	Propylene glycol  Triclosan Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate Fragrance, Glycerin, Sodium chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine	Causes dermatitis, kidney & liver abnormalities,  may inhibit skin cell growth and be irritating to the skin Forms Chloroform with tap water Cancer (fumes emitted from this chemical reaction) Carcinogenic nitrosamines, heart, cause damage to lungs, brain and liver and immune system.
Johnsons soap	Glycerin Fragrance, Titanium Dioxide	Cells don’t mature properly & age faster

CO₂ emissions:

            Following are the steps taken by companies for CO2 reduction in their manufacturing operations:

Godrej:

1. Conversion to LED lights
2. Harvesting rain water
3. Soil biotech technology to treat effluents
4. Switched from furnace oil to natural gas

The above actions resulted in 2-6% reduction of energy consumption.

HUL:

1. Plough share mixer technology:  Reduces CO₂ emissions by 15,000 tonnes per year
2. Manufacturing operations:

                                      i.      Briquette boilers (bio-mass as fuel) reduces CO₂ emissions by 21,000 tonnes

                                ii.          Green electricity from windmills.

Reckitt Benckiser:

1. Use of biomass (rice husk, saw dust) instead of coal and furnace oil
2. 2010 - reduced emissions by 11% per unit of production;  2% less than 2009
3. An initiative to offset emissions by 30 million products produced from 2006 to 2011.
4. Full-scale planting of 2.4 million trees in10,000 acres: offset 2 million tones of CO2 emission

ITC:

1. The large-scale afforestation initiatives:  sequesters twice the carbon emitted from the Company’s operations

Johnson and Johnson:

1. Over 23% CO2 reduction realized from 1990–2010.
2. 16 % CO2 reduction from 2003 baseline.

Social initiatives

            Following are major social initiatives by each of the above brands.

Godrej:

1. Mangrove conservation
2. Focusing on environmental education over the years
3. Successfully oriented thousands of school, college and graduate students through their Mangrove Awareness Programs.
4. Envirotech Group – for pollution reduction and related matters
5. Encon Group – for energy conservation

HUL:

1. 45,000 Shakti entrepreneurs serving more than 1,00,000 villages across India.
2. Enhanced livelihood of 75,000 rural women by Rs.18 crores in partnership with DHAN Foundation.
3. Reduced environmental impact of manufacturing operations by 31% for water use and by 28% for CO2 from energy.
4. HUL employees volunteered more than 1,15,000 hours for community initiatives through HUL Sankalp.
5. Felicitated for receiving highest number of patents in 2009 in India.

Reckitt Benckiser:

1. Carbon 20: to reduce its products' total carbon footprint by 20% by 2020.
2. Our Home Our Planet:   consumers - to reduce their own carbon footprint when they use RB products.
3. Trees for change and Save energy and water project
4. RB and the AIM-PROGRESS task force

ITC:

1. Invested 53C in various community development projects in 2010-11.
2. CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development
3. Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
4. Publications: ‘Excellence in Sustainable Business - Strategies & Practices for Business Growth & Competitiveness’ and ‘Sustainable and Inclusive Innovation - Strategies for Tomorrow’s World’

Johnsons and Johnsons:

1. Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI)
2. Johnson & Johnson Volunteer Support Program(VSP) – employee initiative
3. Johnson & Johnson Global Health Services initiatives
4. Philanthropic efforts: safe birthing and infant care, teaching life skills for young people, assisting women and children at risk for abuse and violence, disaster preparedness and relief.

Animal testing:

The following table gives the comparison between the soaps based on whether the product is tested on animals.

Soap	Animal Testing
Cinthol	NO
Dettol	YES
Dove	YES
Fiama di wills	NO
Johnsons soap	YES

Price:

The following table gives the comparison between the soaps in terms of prices.

Product	Weight (in gms)	Price (Rs)
Cinthol	100	19
Dettol	100	25
Dove	100	42
Fiama di wills	100	45
Johnson’s soap	100	44

Overall rating:

            All the soaps are given ratings according to the factors considered for comparison and it is given consolidated in the following table.

	Ingredients (10)	CO2 emissions (10)	Social initiatives (10)	Animal testing (10)	Price (10)	Total  (50)
Cinthol (Godrej)	8	7	5	8	8	36
Dettol  (RB)	6	8	6	0	7	27
Dove (HUL)	4	8	8	0	6	26
Fiama di wills (ITC)	3	8	7	8	4	30
Johnson’s soap	4	8	5	0	4	21

Conclusion:

            Based on the findings and analysis on the parameters taken into consideration, the soaps can be ranked as follows:

            Rank 1: Cinthol (Godrej)

            Rank 2: Fiama Di Wills (ITC)

            Rank 3: Dettol (RB)

            Rank 4: Dove (HUL)

            Rank 5: Johnson’s soap

References

http://www.cinthol.com/

http://www.dettol.co.in/home.html

http://www.fiamadiwills.com/

http://www.dove.in/

http://www.jnjindia.com/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/116612-soap-ingredients-avoid/

http://barsoapnatural.com/blog/top-10-soap-ingredients-to-avoid/

http://grocery.ebest.in/coimbatore/personal-care-prices-in-coimbatore/3.html

http://www.hul.co.in/mediacentre/news/2012/biomass-boilers-in-HUL-units-help-reduce-CO2-emissions.aspx

http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com

http://www.alabu.com/education/dove-ingredients

http://antiagingchoices.com/harmful_ingredients/toxic_ingredients.htm

http://www.jnj.com/wps/wcm/connect/ad9170804f55661a9ec3be1bb31559c7/2008+Sustainability+Report.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

http://www.karmayog.org/csr500companies/csr500companies_7802.htm

http://www.itcportal.com/sustainability/sustainability-report-2011/economic-performance-06.aspx#

http://www.rb.com/Our-responsibility/Environment